Reflecting on “The Whale”

Is it possible to have differing, but equally valid, moral and ethical positions on the film “The Whale?” I sure hope so. I could be about to test this in what follows. Whatever your views on the film, on food, on obesity, on “fatphobia,” —that entire constellation of issues— I invite you to read this […]

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Texas Independence Day

Today is Texas Independence Day. As a student at UT Austin, I remember celebrating this day with all the pride I could muster.Today, years later, I’m thinking about what I didn’t know then, what I do know now, and the significance to all of us Texans today. If like me, you took “Texas History” in […]

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I Remember Too

Earlier this week, I shared about Ash Wednesday, a year ago…some time I spent by the Roberts Forest fire pit, praying, crying, playing guitar. What I didn’t say then was that a song, in honor of my Mom, poured out of me that night. The whole thing took shape in about 20 minutes. I pulled […]

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Ash Wednesday

A year ago Ash Wednesday… It is about this time of night(1) I have not come home from church, but instead I am sitting alone in Roberts Forest at KPUMC. The fire pit is dying down. (This is an actual picture….) I’m praying a lot. I’m playing guitar. And I’m doing some pretty intense crying. […]

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Jimmy Carter Christianity

Whether or not you are a Christian, if you’re looking for the kind of human I believe best exemplifies my Christian faith, look no further than Jimmy Carter. If you are increasingly convinced there is no such this as a “good and decent” form of Christianity, I would simply invite you to consider Jimmy Carter’s […]

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The God’s Honest Truth About “Revival”

It’s likely that mainline United Methodists are only vaguely aware of the “revival” happening at United Methodist-adjacent Asbury College. But it’s an event that evangelicals across denominational lines can’t stop talking about, and so I’ll jump in a bit today. Let me start with my primary ending point: If “revivals” are not a part of […]

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Suspended in Air, Without a Net

As I watched Rihanna perform her remarkable Halftime show yesterday —pregnant and suspended alone in mid air— my thoughts immediately went to both the new HULU 1619 Documentary, and also a sobering study reported on by the New York Times, out Sunday morning. I hope you saw them both. As I said over the weekend, […]

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Joe Biden Coulda Done That All Night

Congressional Republicans: Decades ago, Joe Biden told you he was a fighter from Scranton.If you paid attention at all, you knew this. McCarthy warned you not to heckle, but you did anyway; and “Sleepy Joe” Jedi mind-tricked you into applauding Social Security protection. People have misunderestimated Joe for forty years.Keep it going if you want. […]

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Cody McMahan

Cody McMahan died Saturday. I had the privilege of knowing Cody for perhaps 15-20 years….I believe I’ve lost count. I believe I first met him when Cody was still a member of Greenland Hills UMC. He later joined Northaven, and still later started dating and eventually married Mike House. One of the high honors of […]

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